A Birmingham woman has been forced to admit light lunches are bad for you – after spending 47 days attempting to survive on the sun’s rays.

Aptly-named Naveena Shine this week called off her 100-day bid to live on light alone.

She hoped for increased spiritual awareness but found only severe body cramps and nausea and admitted: “This could be slow starvation.”

The 65-year-old, originally from Aston, but now living in Seattle in the US, tried to follow the ‘breatharian’ lifestyle, which calls on devotees to survive on sunlight, air and water.

To date, four devotees have died while attempting to follow the food-free path.

Naveena succumbed after shedding two stone and being hit by huge debts – despite a ‘zero’ grocery bill. Her quest for light was made more difficult when her electricity was cut off.

She described the mounting bills as “a simple message from the universe that it is time to stop”.

It was a message echoed by concerned doctors, who warned Naveena could suffer blindness.

But Naveena refused to admit her plan had been folly.

“I think it has been spectacularly successful as it has opened up the question but the world isn’t ready,” she said.

Naveena gave up food in an attempt to “save the planet from the utter destruction we are inflicting on it”.

She said: “I made a call out to existence to see what it wanted from me. After a couple of months, the idea grew and grew.”

She prepared for the challenge by “juicing and undergoing colonic practices”.

But her daily blog chronicled a harrowing descent into ill-health.

On week four, she admitted to cramps, sickness and acute tiredness.

Naveena eventually relented, informing her followers: “I still feel really good, weight loss is slowing and all seems well. However, I still have no evidence I am actually living on light and it could well be slow starvation.”